S. Afr. j. occup. ther. vol.42 no.2 Pretoria 2012

IB OT (UFS); MSc OT (Wits). Lecturer, Department of Occupational Therapy, Faculty of Health Sciences, University of the Free State, Bloemfontein, South Africa IIBOT (UFS). Fourth Year undergraduate students in the Department of Occupational Therapy at the University of the Free Sate at the time the research was undertaken IIIM Med Sc. Lecturer, Department of Biostatistics, Faculty of Health Sciences, University of the Free State, Bloemfontein, South Africa

The Developmental Test of Visual Perception, 2nd edition (DTVP-2), is a valuable measuring tool to assess children's visual perceptual abilities. Although this test is standardised for the American population, it is often used by South African occupational therapists. The DTVP-2 consists of eight sub-tests, of which one is the visual closure sub-test. Clinical experience and research have shown that children often score below average on the visual closure sub-test, despite scoring average or above average on the other sub-tests. A quantitative, descriptive study investigated the validity of the DTVP-2's visual closure subtest. Forty children, five years of age, regardless of race, who could understand and speak English, participated in the study conducted in Bloemfontein, South Africa. Each child completed the DTVP-2 according to the prescribed procedures. Forty per cent of the children scored below average in the visual closure sub-test, which was statistically significantly lower than the other sub-tests. Therapists using this test should interpret the results of the visual closure sub-test with care, and consider its influence on the General Visual Perception Quotient. This study emphasises the need for a visual perceptual test standardised for the South African population.

2. Visser MM. The association of an omitted crawling milestone on pencil grasp and control in a 5 & 6 year old population. Unpublished MSc Occupational Therapy dissertation. Johannesburg: University of the Witwatersrand, 2004. [ Links ]